Expert: J.M.J. West - 9/18/2008

Question
Did God get mad at Abraham's family because he married Sarah and then slept with Hagar and other women?

Answer
Textually speaking, there isn't much to denote the anger of God with Abraham over this issue, but there were also far fewer proscriptions (at least written) against such relations at this time.  The Levitical laws came about after Moses, who was well down the line from Abraham.

But one thing you'll note is that whenever a man takes more than one woman as a wife (or concubine, in the case of Hagar), trouble ensues.

God told Abraham to leave all he knew with his wife and head out to a land he knew not where.  He visited Abraham and his wife (in an interesting image of the Trinity) and told him that at his and his wife's old age, he'd give them a son (Gen 15).  Sarah laughed for saying this (later, in Gen 18, see below), but God kept his word.  But even before he had the chance to keep his word, Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham for the sake of posterity (Gen 16), but then Sarah grew jealous of her and drove her away.  She bore Ishmael, and it was foretold that, "He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; In opposition to all his kin shall he encamp." (v. 12)  

But the Covenant was to be through Sarah, even in the face of this doubt in god.  "Nevertheless, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son, and you shall call him Isaac. I will maintain my covenant with him as an everlasting pact, to be his God and the God of his descendants after him.  As for Ishmael, I am heeding you: I hereby bless him. I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation.  But my covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next year." (17:19-21)

Genesis 18:1 tells us that the lord appeared to Abraham, v.2 tells us that “Abraham looked up and saw three men.”    In v. 2 they Threesome is called “them”, in v. 3 Abraham calls the 3 “my lord” (singular).  Through v. 9 they are “they, but in vs. 5 and 9 they speak as one.  In v. 10 they are referred to as “the Lord”.  WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?  THIS IS WAY MORE CONFUSING THAN TWO CREATION STORIES!

Notice also:  When the Lord tells Abraham that in the spring, Sarah will have a son, Sarah hears and laughs!  The lord asks Sarah why she laughed, and she lies to GOD and says she didn’t.  God simply replies “but you did laugh”, catching her in her lie.  Sarah laughed at God and lied to God, and yet in Genesis 21:1 we read, “the Lord dealt with Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised”.  She names her son Isaac, saying “God has brought laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me” (21:6)  GOD IS TRUE TO HIS WORD, REGARDLESS OF OUR FAILINGS!

So, while he might have been disappointed with Abraham and Sarah's doubting of his providence, nevertheless He was faithful to his promise, and bestowed a posterity upon Abraham such that fully 3/5ths of the world claim to be descended from him (out of 6 billion people, 1.2 billion Catholics, .6 Billion Protestants and .4 Billion Orthodox for a total of about 2.2 Billion; plus another 1.4 billion Muslims who, incidentally, trace their lineage through Ishmael, for a total of about 3.6 billion out of 6 billion people).

I hope that helps!

Pax Christi,

-J.M.J. West